By Sallieu S. Kanu
Freetown, Sierra Leone (June 20, 2025) — While a majority of Sierra Leoneans express approval of government performance in areas like education, healthcare, and national security, new findings from the latest Afrobarometer survey reveal mounting public dissatisfaction with efforts to tackle economic hardship, joblessness, and corruption.
The nationally representative survey, conducted by the Institute for Governance Reform in March-April 2025, highlights a public increasingly critical of its leaders’ handling of economic and accountability-related issues. According to the results, satisfaction is high when it comes to conflict resolution (72%), education (69%), crime reduction (64%), and health services (53%). Yet those numbers plummet when citizens are asked about job creation (22%), reducing income inequality (14%), electricity supply (24%), and improving the living standards of the poor (24%).
“While the government gets passing marks for stabilizing inflation, the sharp decline in approval for job creation and poverty alleviation since 2022 signals deepening concerns about bread-and-butter issues,” the report noted.
Corruption remains another serious flashpoint. Nearly three-quarters of Sierra Leoneans (73%) believe most or all police officials are corrupt. Roughly half share similar views of Members of Parliament (49%), tax officials (49%), and business executives (51%). Equally concerning, only 30% of citizens believe they can report corruption without fear of retaliation—a drop from 34% in 2022. A strong majority, 69%, believe whistleblowers face likely negative consequences.
Afrobarometer, a pan-African research network, has conducted surveys in Sierra Leone since 2012, with the 2025 edition gathering responses from 1,200 adults across the country. The results carry a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points.
As Sierra Leone navigates its economic and democratic challenges, these findings may serve as a wake-up call for policymakers—especially as public opinion shifts in areas once considered government strongholds.